Archive of entries posted on 22nd January 2021

Friday Night Open Thread: Fess Up

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Received this notice in the IMAO inbox. All right, which one of you is responsible for the shipping charge, and what was it for?

_____________________________

Dear Valued Customer,

Please find attached statement of your account including all current, past due and credit balances.
Kindly note, this statement may not reflect payments submitted in the last 48 hours.

    Current:                        $0.00
    1-30 days overdue:              $1,560.00
    31-60 days overdue:             $0.00
    61-90 days overdue:             $0.00
    91-180 days overdue:            $0.00
    Over 180 days overdue:  $0.00

Total Overdue: $1,560.00

Available Credits from Overpayments: $0.00

Please remit payment at your earliest convenience.

For wire transfers use: Your remittance advice shall be emailed to xxxxx@xxx.com and should include payer name, full amount of the wire and break-down allocation of the payment by invoice/bill of lading number.

Best Regards,

Credit and Collections Dept
MSC MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY (USA) INC.

_____________________________

Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.

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Democrats Pledge To Fight Trump Rule Ensuring Doctors Won’t Refuse Service To Conservatives

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Reality just keeps trying to out-Babylon the Bee:

Democrats Pledge To Fight Trump Rule Ensuring Banks Won’t Refuse Service To Conservatives
The Federalist | 01/19/21 | John Hirschauer

In its final days, the Trump administration [sought] to disrupt the way progressive activists increasingly impose their will on big business: through banks controlling the loan lifelines to the economy.

A regulation [finalized on January 19, 2021] aims to prevent lenders from blackballing businesses in industries opposed by the left by requiring banks to demonstrate that their loan decisions are “based on quantitative, impartial risk-based standards,” rather than political or reputational concerns.

The proposed Fair Access to Financial Services Rule (FAFSR) is a response to successful pressure campaigns waged by environmental groups and congressional Democrats, which culminated in every major American bank refusing to finance drilling projects in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), despite such drilling being authorized by President Trump in 2017.

Firearms dealers, oil producers, payday lenders, and workers in other controversial industries have had their access to capital stunted by these campaigns, which are often aimed at the circulatory system of the economy – the banking industry.

By Dec. 1 [2020], every major American bank had announced its refusal to finance drilling in the region, despite it having been authorized for development by Congress.

“Unfortunately, while [Operation Choke Point] is no longer in place under President Trump,” Lipsey wrote, “the financial institutions continue to discriminate against [firearms dealers] and systemically attempt to pick and choose the types of legal products they will tolerate their customers’s manufacturing and selling to law-abiding Americans. “Operation Choke Point has effectively been privatized, away from the purview of elected officials and the voters they represent.”

Coming next week:

Customer at ATM Asked To Cast Vote in Upcoming Election Before Cash Withdrawl Transaction Can Be Processed

And already here:

Morgan Lewis Ordered To Turn Over Trump Docs in Tax Probe; Firm Will End Representation
ABA Journal | January 21, 2021 | Debra Cassens Weiss

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius announced Wednesday that it will be dropping former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization as tax clients.

Hey, Lie Down With Dogs

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Thousands Of National Guardsmen Banished To Parking Garage
CNN | January 22, 2021

CNN?? What’s going on here?

Just get a load of all those unsecured weapons:

. . . or have I just described the Harris / * administration?

Photos Emerge Of National Guard Living In Parking Garage In Democrat-Run D.C.: ‘We Feel Incredibly Betrayed’
The Daily Wire | Jan. 22, 2021 | Ryan Saavedra

Thousands of National Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and have been photographed having to sleep in parking garages while temperatures in the nation’s capital were set to dip down to near-freezing temperatures.

The photos of the living conditions that the National Guardsmen were forced to endure come after Democrats took complete control of the federal government this week following Joe Biden being sworn in as the nation’s 46th president.

“Yesterday dozens of senators and congressmen walked down our lines taking photos, shaking our hands and thanking us for our service,” a National Guardsmen told Politico. “Within 24 hours, they had no further use for us and banished us to the corner of a parking garage. We feel incredibly betrayed.”

“All National Guard troops were told to vacate the Capitol and nearby congressional buildings on Thursday, and to set up mobile command centers outside or in nearby hotels, another Guardsman confirmed,” Politico reported. “They were told to take their rest breaks during their 12-hour shifts outside and in parking garages, the person said.”

“Speaker Pelosi personally met with the Secretary of the Army to demand 14,000 National Guard troops be deployed to the Capitol,” a source familiar with the security discussions at the Capitol told The Daily Wire in a statement. “But there was no logistical plan provided by the Speaker’s office on where the service members would sleep.”

And if you want to use the bathroom, well . . .

MILITARY SOURCE IN DC: “For the last week my battalion has been sleeping on the floor in the Senate cafeteria. Today the Senate kicked us out & moved us to a cold parking garage. 5,000 soldiers. 1 power outlet. One bathroom. This is how Joe Biden’s America treats solders.”

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Well that’s interesting.

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Another new end of the week offering. Trying out a few things. Today’s feature is an interesting bit of news or information that you may not have noticed or seen. I hope you enjoy.

This is for all you drinkers out there. You should pay attention to this, it will not be some thing you will enjoy.

The Incredible Shrinking Liquor Bottle

Link to story

Yes my friends they are making them smaller.

The feds have regulated the size of your liquor bottles since the 1930s, when Prohibition was repealed. The U.S. Congress gave the agency that would become the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) the authority to regulate bottle sizes for two key reasons: To prevent sellers from deceiving consumers by shorting them. And more critically, standard sizes made it easier to track federal taxes companies owed on liquor they sold.

Regulations rolled out in 1934 and 1936 that designated a roster of imperial units that could be used to sell liquor. That included the familiar quart, pint, and fifth (a fifth being a fifth of a gallon), but also oddballs, including a 1/16th pint (that is, an ounce), which was available only for brandy. The feds allowed 38 different bottle sizes.

All well and good so why change?

So why was the 700ml bottle added to the metric family last month? Blame a global coalition. In this case, distillers, distributors and exporters all pressed for allowing new sizes. It wasn’t a new attempt—Washington state, for instance, lobbied for the change back in 1987, arguing that the restrictions on size stifled price competition. The feds didn’t agree back then.

This time, those pushing anew for change argued that the United States had become an isolated island of 750ml bottles amid a sea of 700ml bottles—the standard size most everywhere else in the world. (India is one other significant 750ml island.) So those wanting to export liquor—from either the U.S. to Europe, or vice-versa—had to order two sets of bottles and calibrate their equipment for two separate bottling runs. That was nobody’s idea of frictionless trade.

So the only question is, will prices come down? Well…

If it’s any consolation, shrinking size while maintaining price is a common practice among food products across the board. It even has a name—“shrinkflation”—and it can affect everything from coffee (bags switching from 16 oz to 12 oz) to laundry detergent sizes to tea—a box that once contained 20 bags will remain the same size and price but now holds just 12 bags. It’s a simple way to boost profits without boosting prices.

So let us drink a farewell toast the the 750ml bottle. You will be missed.

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